The Pardoning of Oscar Lopez Rivera

One of President Obama’s last acts in office was the commutation of the sentences of 209 prisoners, one of whom was Oscar Lopez Rivera. Lopez Rivera was sentenced to 70 years in prison for seditious conspiracy, among other charges, for his activities with the Armed Forces of National Liberation for Puerto Rico (commonly abbreviated to FALN), a terrorist group that fought for Puerto Rican independence. The commutation of Lopez Rivera’s sentence was a mistake and should not have happened.

The FALN was founded in the 1960s to resist American occupation of Puerto Rico, and to turn Puerto Rico into an independent communist state, though it did not become a force for violent resistance until the 1970s. Its platform called for armed resistance against the United States, including a “’rearguard’ struggle throughout the breadth of the United States.” The group began a campaign of terrorism against both government and civilian targets throughout the US, using bombings and utilizing hit-and-run tactics.

The most famous bombing was of Fraunces Tavern in 1975. 4 were killed and dozens injured at the historic restaurant, when 10 pounds of dynamite exploded in the tavern’s entrance. The FALN left a note claiming responsibility.

The aftermath of the Fraunces Tavern bombing

Two years later, one was killed and eight injured when the FALN bombed the Mobil Building in New York City. All told, the group claimed responsibility for 100 bombings that killed six people and wounded, often permanently maiming, 130 more.

A firefighter surveying damage after the Mobil Building bombing

Oscar Lopez Rivera, a leader of the FALN, came to the attention of the authorities when Chicago Police found a bomb factory in an apartment tied to him. He was arrested, tried, and found guilty of five crimes, including seditious conspiracy, armed robbery, and gun crimes. He was sentenced to 55 years. In 1988, he received an additional 15 years for attempting to escape prison and plotting to transport explosives.

In 1999, President Bill Clinton offered to commute the sentences of those FALN members who did not personally harm anyone, on the condition that they would renounce violence. This move by Clinton was extremely controversial, being condemned by the Senate 95-2. Some claimed Clinton did this to gain Puerto Rican support for his wife’s Senate campaign. Most of the prisoners accepted the offer, but Lopez Rivera refused, both because the offer did not extend to some FALN prisoners he wanted free and on the grounds that he would not renounce violence. He needed only wait 18 years, as President Obama would unconditionally commute his sentence anyway.

Lopez Rivera’s freedom had long been a cause célèbre in some parts of the American left and advocates of Puerto Rican independence. Upon his release, many celebrated, including New York mayor Bill de Blasio and Broadway writer and composer Lin Manuel Miranda. But why were so many calling for, and now celebrating, the release of a domestic terrorist? Was President Obama right in commuting his sentence?

The short answer is, no. Often, political crimes are seen in a different, more generous, light than other crimes. The cliché “one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter” is sometimes used as morally relativistic cudgel, a demand that one ought not judge political crimes harshly. This is a dangerous tactic of evasion. It dispels responsibility and creates a vacuum of ever-justified violence, without a consistent moral framework by which we can judge the rightness of one’s actions. Whether one agrees with Lopez Rivera on the issue of Puerto Rican independence or not, one is not obligated to believe he ought to be free. Intellectual consistency does not demand one must support terrorists if one agrees with their political narratives. Unless we believe the ends always justify the means, there is no reason to accept Lopez Rivera’s crimes as acceptable.

Some have used his treatment in prison to argue for his release. Lopez Rivera has spent 12 years in solitary confinement, a practice extraordinarily harmful. He is also denied visitation rights, something not only wrong but also counterproductive. These things must be remedied, but there’s no reason for them to merit a commutation of his sentence.

Lopez Rivera was in prison not just for a violent past, but also because he has refused to show remorse for that past. The offer made by President Clinton, which Lopez Rivera refused to accept due to his allegiance to violent tactics, shows this. Though he may not be a physical threat anymore, due to his age, imprisonment is not just preventive, intended to keep the public safe and away from criminals. Punishments exist to provide the public with retribution, as well as deterrence and rehabilitation. This is evidenced by the FBI’s inclusion of William Morales, a bomb-maker for the FALN, on the current Most Wanted: Domestic Terrorism list. Morales is in his late 60s, and is likely not much of a threat to the country. He has lived in Cuba since 1988, so he is far from the American public. So why include him on the Most Wanted list, when Americans are by and large safe from him? The same reason Lopez Rivera should not be free: the matter of retributive justice.

Now in his 70s, Lopez Rivera will likely not carry out future violent acts, but his refusal to renounce violence has shown that he is most likely not rehabilitated. As far as retribution, Lopez Rivera assisted in terrorist acts and was a leader of a group that called for guerilla warfare throughout the United States. Is 37 years sufficient retribution? His victims and members of their families say no. The sentencing judge called him an “un-rehabilitated revolutionary” and he remains such, unapologetic for the lives he helped ruin and the violence he engaged in. To support his release is to let one’s opinions of his political aspirations blind one’s support for justice and impartiality.

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2 Responses

This is a fantastic post. I agree with you wholeheartedly and my husband and I are applauding your final sentence. I really like that you used graphics in your blog post. I also think that releasing Lopez Rivera is almost like a slap in the face to the people who were hurt and the families of those that were injured. This man owns up to what he has done and has shown no remorse for the lives that he took. Again, awesome post. I am looking forward to reading more from you.

What a well done and well researched post. I read somewhere that Obama pardoned more individuals than the past 12 Presidents combined. Most of which had ties to terrorism, much like the domestic terrorist you mentioned, and even that Bradley Manning who now refers to himself as “Chelsea” who leaked national secrets that could have put our armed forces in harms way. It boils the blood that Oscar is now walking free having no remorse for the lives he took and destroyed and has basically been able to circumvent the entire justice process just because one man wanted to make himself look better in the eyes of his peers who, for some reason, think he did some great service to our nation. Again, great job on this post. I will definitely be passing this on to my friends and family.